Fever Coach Disappointed with Lack of 'Competitive Fire' as Caitlin Clark Returns

Caitlin Clark's return to play was spoiled by the Golden State Valkyries, who defeated the Indiana Fever 80-61. Head coach Stephanie White didn't hold back as she assessed her team's effort postgame.

Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White looks on during the game against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark made her return to live game action on Wednesday after missing five straight games with a left groin strain. It wouldn't be cause for celebration, however, as the Fever were promptly trounced 80-61 by the Golden State Valkyries.

The lopsided loss didn't sit well with head coach Stephanie White, who issued a blunt statement postgame about her squad's effort.

"I felt like our energy and our competitive fire was not there, and that's disappointing."

Fever head coach Stephanie White

“I felt like our energy and our competitive fire was not there, and that’s disappointing.”

Fever HC Stephanie White says that lack of fire is “unacceptable.” pic.twitter.com/T73SMyFEhn

— Angela Moryan (@AngelaMoryanTV) July 9, 2025

Indiana led 23-21 after one quarter of play, but couldn't maintain that level of play for 40 minutes. Enjoying multiple 10-point runs, Golden State took command and quickly doused the excitement surrounding Clark's return.

"There's always going to be adjustments when you're working people back into the lineup. There's no question about that," White acknowledged. "But the competitiveness and the attention to detail and willingness to play with multiple levels of effort -- prime example is when we get multiple defensive stops, but then they get multiple offensive rebounds. That's one-two, that's competitive fire, and that's unacceptable."

Clark immediately slotted into the starting five, playing alongside Aari McDonald for the first time this season and relegating Lexie Hull to the bench for the first time since May 22.

But the first look at a highly anticipated Clark-McDonald dynamic wouldn't yield exciting results. Indiana was held under 70 points for the first time since June 10 and converted at a lowly 30.9% rate from the field.

White was hesitant to blame the Fever's struggles on a lack of attention to the game plan, and struggled to pinpoint reasons behind Indiana's lengthy stretch of inconsistent play.

"I'm not sure. As coaches, that's our job to figure out," White admitted. "With the exception of about two five-minute spurts, our attention to detail was poor. I think this is a group that focuses. But you can focus, and then you have to be disciplined enough to execute it."

Once again, the Fever struggled against Natalie Nakase's aggressive defensive system. Meanwhile, an 18-2 run from Golden State to close the first half and a 21-5 run in the fourth quarter killed any hopes of a comeback.

It's a Valkyries 21-5 run since the Fever got to within five, 55-50.

An outstanding defensive performance, holding the Fever to 30% shooting. It's been a disjointed game for Indiana lacking any flow.

— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) July 9, 2025

"Overall, they just played with more energy and effort, and those are the things that just can't happen," Clark stated postgame. "It's every single person on our team; nobody played well today. You should look yourself in the mirror and find ways where you can get better."

Clark logged 25 minutes in her first game back, notching 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. She was far from the only player who struggled against the Valkyries -- of the 10 Fever players who stepped onto the court, only rookie Makayla Timpson shot over 50% from the field.

"I think it really comes down to effort and us not locking in mentally and following the scouting report," Hull added, echoing Clark's sentiment. "Our team, we have a lot of inconsistency. We need to focus every game, cause all of these games matter when September, October comes."

Lexie Hull on Indiana Fever

"Our team has had a lot of inconsistency…we need to bring that level of focus and energy every single day. We need to focus every game because all of these games matter...It’s really going to come down to us."

— Moreau Sports Media Prod Co. (@MoreauSportsCo) July 9, 2025

Despite some strong flashes in the past couple of weeks, Indiana remains 7th in the WNBA standings at 9-10, falling back below .500 with Saturday's loss. Clark's injuries have no doubt made the road more challenging, but they've simply struggled to build any type of sustainable momentum.

The Fever have a day to regroup before hosting the 12-7 Atlanta Dream on Friday.